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Census Research Guide: 1870

About the 1870 Census

Census Bureau's "By Decade" website - includes a variety of publications, questionnaires, datasets, and more

Highlights

  • 9th decennial census
  • US population: 39,818,449 (revised count)
  • California population: 560,247
  • First census taken after the 13th amendment abolished slavery.
  • First census to fully record information on the Black population.

Questions asked (see questionnaire)

Name; age; sex; race; occupation; value of real estate; value of personal estate; place of birth; whether parents were foreign born; month of birth if born within the year; month of marriage if married within the year; school attendance; literacy; whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic; male citizens 21 and over, and number of such persons denied the right to vote for other than rebellion. Supplemental schedules for persons who died during the year; paupers; prisoners.

Map coverage of the 1870 census

 

For more information on this map:

Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790 - 1920

Finding Statistics

Social Explorer - remote access limited to UCSD affiliates

Finding Publications

Find all 1870 census publications in the library catalog.

Selected publications:

Statistics of the Population: Tables I to VIII inclusive [C 3.14:870/1 and C 3.14:870/1/reprint]

Vital Statistics of the United States [C 3.14:870/2/reprint]

The Statistics of the wealth and industry of the United States [C 3.14:870/3/reprint]

Compendium [C 3.14:870/4 and C 3.14:870/4/reprint]